Major Bantam Girls 'A' Team
  

 
Hornets Major Bantam A Girls' Basketball Team
Overcome Injuries to Win 2 Gold, 1 Silver in Three Weeks

The Goulbourn Hornets Major Bantam A girls’ basketball team played three tournaments in three consecutive weekends and emerged with 2 gold medals and 1 silver. Nothing was going to get in their way. All season, this team has been battling injuries – ankle, wrist, foot, broken arms, influenza. You name it, they got it. The list is long but these girls coached by Scott Nystedt are dedicated and brought home the hardware from Gatineau, Niagara Falls and Gloucester tournaments.

First stop in the tournament circuit was Gatineau during the weekend of January 28th. The Goulbourn Hornets started pool play with an impressive 59-21 win over the St. Alex Titans, with 11 players. High scorer was Adrianna Nystedt with 10 points. Unfortunately they lost one player due to ankle injury – Julia Blais. The second game against Regina Assumpta was also dominated by the Hornets with a 69-29 win in which Devon Kedrosky scored 17 points. But then they started to drop like flies. Both Vanessa Burgess and Madison Graves left the game early with a broken arm and a bang to the head. This sets the stage for the semi finals with 8 players. No problem – with determination the Hornets win their game against Phenix 71-22 with high scorer in this game being Aelah Thomson with 18 points. Next are the finals against local rival Xelles. Hornets have beaten this team several times but the Xelles show up with great intensity and the Hornets fall behind quickly by 13-5 in the first quarter. The Hornets show their “never quit attitude” and win the second quarter and the game is tied 23-23 at the half. It’s a battle the rest of the way with the Hornets finally taking the lead in the fourth quarter and winning the gold medal by 4 points. Katie Kennedy led the charge with 15 points and 14 rebounds.

Next stop is Niagara Falls Red Raiders Annual Basketball tournament during the weekend of February 4th. The coaching staff kept their fingers crossed that no new injuries would occur. The Hornets opened tournament play with a 51-36 win against the London 86er’s. Madison Graves led the team with 13 points. And then it started again. Devon Kedrosky got the flu and had to stay in her room the rest of the weekend. But the girls stayed focused on the prize and easily won the next two games against Blessed Sacrament #2 and Dundas Dynamos. Katie Kennedy and Captain Chloe Brownlee were high scorers of these two games respectively. Hornets played against the home town Niagara Falls team in the semi-finals which they easily won. Madison Graves led the team with 11 points. The gold medal game against Newman Youth fittingly proved to be the biggest challenge. Hornets pulled ahead by 4 points in the first quarter. But then Anyssa Close sprained her ankle and had to be carried out of the game. Although shaken, the team stayed focused and managed to pull out the win 57-47 for the gold medal. Madison Graves once again led the team with 14 points. Chloe Brownlee led in rebounds with 17. The team made the long trek home with another two players on the injury list.

Two medals were not enough for the Hornets. They needed another one to complete the 3 for 3 sweep. In the final stop of the 3 week tournament circuit, they opened the Mike O’Connor Tournament in Gloucester in Major Bantam AAA division with easy wins against Nepean #1, Belleville and Xelles. In the semi-final game, the Hornets squeaked out a win against the Gloucester Wolverines 50-45 in spite of the loud home crowd. In the final game, they faced the #2 team in Quebec - Tornades de Longueuil. The team was looking forward to seeing how they could do against this tough competition. With great cheering from the three injured players the team did not disappoint. After falling behind in the first quarter, the Hornets battled back to tie the game in the fourth quarter at 65. But the talented Quebec team was able to pull out the victory at the end 72-65. Madison Graves received the Hustle Award for her great play in the tournament. Coach Nystedt was very proud of how the girls worked in the gold medal game. “They put themselves in position to beat the #2 ranked team in the province of Quebec. At the end it didn’t work out but the girls proved they could match a high caliber team.”

All in all, it’s been a very successful season for the Hornets Major Bantam A team with a record of 30 wins and 3 losses. The girls are looking forward to avenge two of the losses to the Cornwall Lions. Lucky for them they will have the opportunity to do so on February 26th. Stay tuned!